Background: Degree apprenticeships (DA) help employees gain new knowledge and skills by allowing them to study towards a university degree while working full time. For these programmes to be effective, the learning design should be adapted to the needs of these students, who are goal oriented (i.e. they want to gain only knowledge that can be…

Purpose: Apprenticeships for higher education institutes (HEIs) at degree and postgraduate levels in the UK have been challenging to provide, requiring increasingly complex collaboration and investment. This questions longer-term viability, creating a new perspective investigating evidence of value and impact for UK HEIs. This integrative…

Purpose: Building on the concepts of learning communities of practice, the paper aims to evaluate their application within degree apprenticeships (DAs) to support pedagogic engagement and inclusive education within a university setting. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of an existing B2B sales degree apprenticeship reviewed relevant…

This paper provides a small-scale exploration of the evolvement of leadership roles in higher education academic units (AUs), namely Departments, Schools & Faculties. A literature review provides theoretical examples of the evolution of professional services (PS) staff. Changes in PS leadership roles are also explored alongside the emergence…

The term tertiary education has gained prominence in recent policy debates in the UK [Morgan (2023). "Labour 'would review whole landscape' of tertiary education." "Times Higher Education," 28 November. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labour-would-review-whole-landscape-tertiary-education]. This paper presents…

This study explores the lived experience of both in-service and pre-service apprentices studying Level 7 apprenticeship programmes. Using qualitative questionnaires, this article facilitates a thematic analysis exploring how aspects such as: rationale for enrolment; study habits; prioritisation of workload; resilience and wellbeing are experienced…

With successive changes to apprenticeship policy, shifting emphasis on the amount of involvement of employers in engaging and delivering apprenticeship, and an over-reliance on further education to fill the gaps in the midst of its own storm, this article explores the successful ingredients for employer engagement in apprenticeship and vocational…

Purpose: The Chartered Manager Degree Apprenticeship (CMDA) was approved for delivery in the UK in 2015 (IfATE, 2023). The CMDA offers future managers the opportunity to gain a recognised degree as well as the practical skills to thrive in today's competitive job market. A number of studies have been written on the development phase of the CMDA in…

This study explores the lived experience of apprentices on a degree-level programme and their perceptions of how elements of apprenticeship study that aren't components of traditional degree study -- i.e. off-the-job training -- impact their learner journey. This article undertakes a thematic analysis following qualitative interviews with eleven…

In this collection, different experts from a range of backgrounds consider the current plan to defund many Business and Technician Education Councils (BTECs) and other popular Level 3 Applied General qualifications. Together, the chapters argue this could close off a useful and proven route for students from a wide range of backgrounds, including…

Purpose: This paper examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital developments in apprenticeship and work-based learning in higher education (HE), focusing on practices that have ongoing value. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was carried out on the theme of HE work-based and work-integrated learning during the…

This paper aims to stimulate debate and prompt further research regarding the training, development and Higher Education (HE) of aspiring adventure professionals (AP's). The design of the paper draws on 10 years of observations and trends within the HE outdoor degree teaching sector, in tandem with the authors' own extensive professional outdoor…

In order to address urgent workforce considerations and changing demographics, in 2017 the National Health Service in the United Kingdom introduced a new role in healthcare, the Nursing Associate. Education for the new role was delivered by work-based learning in partnership with local universities. This paper reports on a qualitative longitudinal…

Every year, around 35% of engineering graduates (mainly female and ethnic minority graduates) in the UK choose roles outside engineering. Given that engineering disciplines struggle to attract recruits, this represents a significant loss of qualified talent the profession can ill afford. A possible reason why engineers choose not to practise after…

Purpose: This paper examines architecture as an example of the evolving context of qualifying routes in UK professions. Design/methodology/approach: The background and current state of architectural education, qualifying routes and regulatory frameworks in the UK is presented as a case-study, and compared with practices in professional education…